Forever A King
by Merribishop
Summary: Troy Bolton is the King of East High. When a car jacking leaves Troy fighting for his life, Will he be able to hold onto his crown or lose it forever?
1. Chapter 1 Just a distraction

**Disclaimer: All Characters, situations and references to or within High School Musical are the property of Disney. As well as products, stores and any other copyrighted material mentioned I do not own either!**

**Forever a King.**

Chapter.1 – Just a distraction.

Troy Bolton was the king of East High, not literally but close enough. Even if he didn't know everyone in school, they sure knew him. He was what some people would call a star. Captain of the basketball team and voted MVP both sophomore and junior year, it came naturally to Troy. Being the coach's son also had its advantages…and disadvantages.

For the last three months the wildcats had been training hard for the championship game. Having won against the West High Knights two years in a row, the pressure got worse each time, everyone expected the team to make a clean sweep and leave East High victoriously. Troy felt the pressure most of all. His dad being a retired champion himself saw the potential Troy had and therefore pushed his son. He expected him to train tirelessly and work to turn that potential into a college scholarship. Scouts had been to previous games and it was basically a given that he would continue on playing for the Red Hawks at the University of Albuquerque.

Troy's life revolved around basketball, if he wasn't training he was either at school studying, sleeping or spending the occasional free moment he had with his girlfriend Gabriella. Troy's life was going at such a raid pace, he could barely keep up himself.

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Troy woke up to the sound of his phone vibrating. After spending a few hours celebrating their third championship win with the team and his friends from school, he had come home exhausted. Months on end training for last night had finally taken a toll on his body and he had fallen asleep on his bed still fully dressed in his white wildcat track suit.

Hoping that it was just a message coming through, Troy rolled over and tried to go back to sleep. He had just started to doze off again when for the second time his phone rang. "This better be good." Troy thought to himself. "If it's Chad just being a pain like he sometimes chooses to be, I'll kill him. He of all people should know how I would be feeling this morning."

Troy turned over and reached for his black flip phone. It was teetering on the edge of his bed side table where he had basically flung it the night before when he came home. Squinting his eyes because of the brightly lit screen in front of him, he looked at the caller ID, His face lit up. He knew that this was one call he probably would want to answer. "Hello?' Troy said trying his best to not let the caller hear his croaky morning voice.

"Aww honey, I didn't wake you did I?" Gabriella said knowing full well that she had woken him and instantly feeling a slight regret for calling him so early in the morning. "No?" Troy replied, hoping that she would believe him, "I was already awake, just haven't got out of bed yet" he said.

Giggling to herself inside, Gabriella knew when Troy was lying. However she did think it was sweet how he didn't want her to feel bad. "I just rang to see if you wanted to walk to school together? It's a beautiful day and it will give us a chance to be alone seeing as there is practically no privacy at school and now you're the third time undefeated champion of the East Wildcats, everyone will be wanting to talk to Troy Bolton the King of the Wildcats" Gabriella grinned as she remembered the previous year. Every kid had basically begged to get an autograph or picture with the "superstar" that they had resorted to dodging people, in order to get away. They finally began to understand a little bit of what celebrities went through.

Rolling his eyes at the comment Gabbi had just said, Troy was very keen to spend some time alone with his girlfriend. Before getting the chance to say "yes" he suddenly yawned. Remembering how exhausted he still felt he let out a small sigh. "As much as I'd love to Gabbi, I'm still really tired from the game yesterday, I don't think my legs could take it." He probably would survive the walk he thought, but exaggerating a little bit wasn't going to hurt the situation.

"Well it was just a thought. How bout I come and pick you up then, at least we can talk in the car?" Gabbi said hoping that she might get to spend some time with him this morning. "Sure" he said, immediately feeling relieved of the suggestion "I'll see you soon" he replied hanging up and finally pulling back the covers and getting out of bed. It was going to be a long day, he thought. At least it was Friday and the end of the week. He could relax all weekend.

Half an hour later, Gabriella pulled into his driveway and made her way to the door. She was carrying two large coffees she had picked up on her way. Knowing caffeine helps to keep the eyelids open. Hoping he wasn't still in bed she finally managed to ring the doorbell. She was relieved when he answered the door, all ready to go.

"Thought you might need this." She smiled handing him one of the coffees she had in her hand. Taking a big whiff of the coffee beans he looked to Gabriella. "I knew there was a reason I liked you" he grinned following her to the car.

The ride to school in the car seemed to go so fast. They had barely gotten the conversation past the excitement of last night when they pulled into the car park. "Well it was fun while it lasted" Troy sighed as they climbed their way out of the car. "We should do it again sometime." Gabriella replied smiling as she and Troy headed into the building on their way to home room with Ms Darbus.

Turning around the first corner on their way to their lockers, Troy heard a loud voice coming from behind him. He immediately recognised it. Resounding so loud, it made heads turn. "That can't be Troy Bolton, the Wildcat superstar and captain of the, if I may say so _fabulous_ championship team right in front of me can it?" Chad said as he came up behind Troy.

"Nope, just some cheap look-a-like" Troy joked turning around. "Pay no attention to him" he said, aiming his words to the people who were currently listening in. "I'm just a distraction".

"Well you got that right!" Chad replied looking back at his best friend. "I mean, as far as Gabriella is concerned." He grinned knowing that his comment would probably make Troy blush.

Exactly as he thought, Troy's face had taken on an appearance that was slightly more red than before which he knew he was also embarrassed about."Come on man" Troy said, pulling his friend along, "If we are late for Darbus, she will definitely make sure there is a distraction, in order to get rid of us completely" he continued, hurrying to get away from anyone who might have noticed his embarrassment."True, Very True!" Chad replied, hurrying along with his friend to class.

It had felt like a lifetime when the bell finally rang to indicate the end of the day, and the beginning of the weekend. Troy, Gabriella and the rest of the gang headed out the door into the fresh air and the scorching sun, so thankful that class was finally over.

"So seeing as how hot it is, I was thinking we should go to the food hall and practise our ice cream devouring skills" Chad suggested, hoping that his friends would recognise one of his brilliant ideas and join him.

"Oh my goodness, once in a while he can actually think of something worth while to do" Sharpay replied glancing around at the group and at Chad who looked back at Sharpay pretending to be hurt, when in fact in truth he did actually feel a little put down by her comments.

The others just ignored her comment as they went on to agree with Chad's suggestion."Sounds good" Gabriella spoke as she searched for her car keys in her bag. "we shall meet you there." Finally finding her keys she motioned to Troy to follow her to the car.

It was a fairly short ride to the food hall. Within five minutes they had parked and were preparing to get out of the car to head there would be air conditioning and more importantly ice cream. Noticing that they were the first to arrive, Troy and Gabriella took their time, undoing their seatbelts and getting out, slowly heading around the back of the car to keep an eye out for the others.

Turning their focus on each other while they waited, they blocked everything that did not concern them out, gently locking their arms around each other. Their continuous kisses and caressing of each others bodies distracted them from hearing the approaching footsteps.

Pulling their lips apart in order to take a much need breath, Troy lifted his head noticing the balaclava clad figure standing behind Gabriella, now looking him in the eye. Immediately pulling Gabriella around behind him and trying to shield her from the stranger, Troy came face to face with the man.

"Keys. Now!" he spoke, a certain and definite tone sounding through his voice. Troy, still trying to comprehend what exactly was going on turned towards Gabriella. "Let him have them" she said to Troy, eyes fixed on the man who was confronting them.

"Alright man" Troy replied, reaching around to Gabriella's bag. Fumbling around for a while, Troy wasn't able to find her keys. "This is why women shouldn't carry so much in their purses" he thought, still frantically searching. At that moment Troy felt the impatient man move, and before he had a chance to look up, he was greeted by a searing pain through his body, and a female scream that was deafening.

**What happened? Will everything be ok? You'll have to wait for the next chapter to find out. This is my very first attempt at a story so I hope you like review, I would love to hear your comments and thoughts.**


	2. Chapter 2 A loud surprise

...At that moment Troy felt the impatient man move, and before he had a chance to look up, he was greeted by a searing pain through his body, and a female scream that was deafening.

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Chapter 2 – A loud surprise

Chad, Taylor, Zeke, Ryan, Sharpay, and Kelsie jumped. They cowered behind the doors of their cars as the shots rang out. The first one had caught them by such surprise that they barely had a chance to register what it was before they heard a second and third bang.

Crawling around to the other side of the car where Taylor was hiding, Chad embraced the scared girl, giving her extra protection, not knowing himself what was going on. It was then that he heard the scream. He knew the voice. "Oh god, it's Gabbi" Chad whispered to Taylor pulling her even closer while pulling out his phone and dialling 911. "Ambulance, Police of Fire?" the operator spoke into Chad's ear.

"um.. Ambulance....no...Police!...no... BOTH!" Chad quickly told the woman on the end of the line. "I'm in the food hall car park... and someone just fired shots...and I can hear screaming... and I think my friends could be injured and..." Chad said frantically in between trying to catch his breath. "Ok emergency services are on their way, please stay where you are, keep out of sight" the woman replied, knowing how desperate the young man sounded and hoping that he would listen to her.

Chad hung up the phone and turned back to Taylor who had now been joined by the others, who had been hiding behind their own vehicle.

"They are on their way" he said, trying to sound a bit more confident and trying to keep everyone relaxed. He could still hear Gabriella screaming, but this time he could here the words. "TROY!.....come on troy stay with me....HELP! Somebody!...Please help!" Chad's heart sank, he had to get over there, to help Gabbi.

The others just looked at him, scared. "I'm going over there" Chad told them, glancing around to make sure the gunman wasn't anywhere near. "They need help!" he continued.

Tayor and the others just looked at him, they nodded, planning to follow him over there. "You guys wait here and keep watch for the police and paramedics" Chad told them, not wanting anyone else to be put in danger.

"Chad be careful!" Taylor whispered, watching as Chad ran out from behind the car over to help his friends.

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Troy didn't even hear the shots, all he could feel was a searing white intense pain filling his body from head to toe. His ears were filled with a loud scream coming from behind him. "It was Gabbi, was she hurt?" Troy thought as he began to fall to the ground. Before he knew it, everything was fuzzy, his head was pounding and he could feel a boot repeatedly making contact with his ribs. As fast as the kicking began, it stopped and all Troy could hear were the faint noise of footsteps as they ran away.

He knew he needed to stay awake but the pain was too much to bare. Troy closed his eyes, letting the darkness overtake his body.

"TROY!.....come on Troy stay with me....HELP! Somebody!...Please help!" Gabriella yelled as she knelt beside his injured body. "Come on Troy don't do this to me, open your eyes...come on Troy"

Gabriella could hear running. Looking up she saw Chad running towards her. "Gabbi" Chad yelled as he got closer. "Chad, call 911" he's bleeding...bad!" she said, trying her best to hold back sobs. "I already did, they are on their way" he replied, kneeling down beside Troy. "Troy man come on...it's going to be alright" he spoke, slightly taken aback by his friends wounds.

He could hear sirens in the distance getting louder and louder as they made their way into the car park and over to where the teens were.

"It's going to be ok now Troy, the ambulance is here, they'll look after you" Chad whispered to his friend, hoping his unconscious friend might hear him.

The paramedics loaded Troy onto a stretcher. "We need to get him to the hospital now!, he's losing a lot of blood" the paramedic said, placing an oxygen mask over Troy's face and loading him into the back of the ambulance. "You should get checked out too" she said turning to Gabriella, noticing how shaken up she was.

Gabriella turned around to Chad as she was guided into the back with Troy. "Don't worry, I'll get the others and meet you at the hospital" he said giving her a small grin of encouragement, before the doors were shut.

The ride to the hospital seemed to take forever Gabbi thought as every second that went by Troy's breathing seemed to struggle more. The Ambulance pulled into the emergency bay of the Albuquerque General Hospital. "Troy Bolton, multiple gunshot wounds to the chest, back and thigh" the paramedic relayed to the emergency staff as they pulled Troy's stretcher out of the Ambulance and into the ER "possible skull and rib fractures, BP's 90/50" she continued.

"Call surgery, we need to get him up there now." the ER doctor told the nurse as she hurried to the phone. "Troy, can you here me?" the doctor said, flashing his pen light into the young mans eyes. "Start him on a unit of whole blood as well as saline solution stat, it has been so hot today he's dehydrated we need to give this guy some fluids and get him stabilised. The nurse frantically worked to get the IV lines installed as they waited to take him to theatre.

Gabriella had been guided into an exam room as soon as the ambulance had pulled up. The doctor had looked her over and had concluded that she was fine, just shaken up which going by the days events was to be expected. She was shown out to the waiting room where Chad, Taylor, Ryan, Sharpay, Zeke, Kelsie and now Jason and Martha were waiting.

"How is he?" Chad said immediately embracing Gabriella into a hug. "I don't know, they won't tell me anything." The nurse who had helped Gabbi turned to their concerned faces "We can't tell you much at the moment, they are just trying to stabilise him, till they can take him up to surgery. It will probably be a long wait, but once his family is here and we know some more, we'll let you know." The nurse turned and disappeared behind the nurse's station proceeding to contact Troy's parents.

Trying their best to be strong for Gabbi and not let their intense worry show, the group of friends sat back down, preparing for the long wait ahead. "He'll be ok Gabbi, he's in the best hands now, they'll look after him." Chad said, trying to also convince himself that Troy will be ok.

"I can't lose him Chad, I just can't" she replied, sobbing into his shoulder. "I can't lose him!"

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**Will Troy make it through surgery? Read and REVIEW and you'll find out :)**


	3. Chapter 3 Time doesn't fly!

Trying their best to be strong for Gabbi and not let their intense worry show, the group of friends sat back down, preparing for the long wait ahead. "He'll be OK Gabbi, he's in the best hands now, they'll look after him." Chad said, trying to also convince himself that Troy will be OK.

"I can't lose him Chad, I just can't" she replied, sobbing into his shoulder. "I can't lose him!"

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Chapter 3 – Time doesn't fly.

Watching the second hand tick by was hard enough in Ms Darbus' class but in that circumstance at least Chad new what was going to happen next. Being stuck in a bland hospital waiting room anxious to hear whether you best friend has survived surgery is much much worse.

It had only been two hours since they had arrived at the hospital. Troy had been rushed Into ER with severe wounds and none of the staff could really say what was happening. Chad, not one to just sit around was getting very restless. "What is taking them so long" he said standing up and pacing to the other side of the room. Taylor noticing how antsy her boyfriend was walked over to him. "They've only been in there a couple of hours, give them time." she said placing her arms around his tense shoulders.

Sharpay on the other hand was sitting next to Gabriella who had been staring at the coffee table for over half an hour. "Gabbi" she said, putting her arms around the distracted teen, "do you want to go get a drink or something?" she continued hoping to pull her out of her intense thoughts. " I'm fine really" she replied, not pulling her eyes away from where she had been staring. Sharpay sighed leaning back against her chair. Her plan of getting Gabriella to relax a little hadn't worked so she continuing on thinking of things to say or do to distract Gabriella from thinking the worst.

A few more minutes went by when the automatic doors into the waiting room opened, Troy's parents Lucille and Jack Bolton hurried in. They rushed over to where Troy's friends were all congregated. "Gabriella", Lucille said, embracing her son's girlfriend in a warm hug. "Are you OK?" she continued, worrying about the young girl and watching as Gabriella nodded her head in response.

"What's happening, where's Troy?" Jack interrupted, anxious to find out the condition of his son. "We don't know" Chad replied, combing his fingers through his tightly curled hair. "They said they couldn't tell us anything, at least not until you arrived and even then it wouldn't be for a while."

Jack moved over to the couches to sit with his wife. It had been a long week at school and then to receive a phone call saying his only son had been shot was almost too much for Jack to handle. The ten of them had been sitting there quietly for fifteen minutes, pondering every bad thought that had appeared in their minds when a doctor came in.

"Family of Troy Bolton?" he began to say as he approached the group that had spread themselves out across the waiting room. "Yes, How is he doctor?" Lucille said jumping up and grabbing her husband's hand for support.

"Well we can't say too much just yet..." he replied, looking into their faces and noticing them hanging off every word he was saying, "...he's still in surgery. He took bullets to the chest, back and thigh and was bleeding a lot so it's going to take 10 to 12 hours at least before we know anything. I just thought I'd come out and let you know what was happening. I suggest you try and get some rest while you wait. We'll keep you updated and let you know when they're finished."

"Thank you doctor" Jack replied, turning back around and moving to sit back down. It was going to be a long wait before Troy came out of surgery and even then, Jack couldn't help but have that felling that he might not survive. He had to be strong.

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6 hours later.

It was now midnight and Troy's surgery was only half way through. Most of the gang had already fallen asleep leaving Gabriella, Chad, Lucille and Jack to fill in the time while waiting for news on Troy.

Noticing Taylor stirring from her uncomfortable slumber, Jack spoke up. "Look it's getting late and they won't be finished for a few hours yet, plus Troy won't be up for visitors for a while after that. There's no point sleeping here when you guys could be at home. So why don't you go and get some proper sleep. We'll call you when we hear something" he said noticing how tired they all were.

"OK" Taylor said while waking up the others "We'll come back here in the morning if we haven't heard from you and see how everything is going."

After some very persistent words encouraging them to go with them, Taylor, Sharpay, and the others left Chad and Gabriella with the Boltons. They knew how stubborn their friends were and if they wanted to stay, there was practically nothing they could do to stop them. They went home to get some sleep knowing they would be informed of any news.

The hours rolled on and there still hadn't been any news on Troy. Everyone was silently praying that he would pull through. The Police had been through an hour earlier and had informed them that they had arrested the gunman. As much as knowing he was locked up in a jail cell had brought relief to their thoughts, it hadn't done much to ease the tension that was in the room.

It was nearing 5 am and everyone but Lucille had fallen asleep. Quietly checking the halls as she had been doing almost every half hour, her heart suddenly rose up into her throat as she saw a tall man dressed in blue surgical scrubs making his way down the hall towards her.

Quickly turning herself around she ran over to Jack and shook him awake. "Jack honey, wake up the doctor is coming" she said anxious for him to wake so they could talk to him. Jack jumped up knocking the blanket a nurse had given him to the floor. By this time the doctor had made his way over to the couple.

"Mr and Mrs Bolton" he said looking them directly in the eye but not yet showing any emotion on his face. The two of them nervously looked at the man's face, unable to read his expression.

"Troy is out of surgery" he continued, noticing a huge sense of relief on their faces after realising their son had gotten through the surgery. "Although he was a very hurt young man." By this time Chad and Gabriella had woken and were hurrying over to the three adults.

"Is he alright?" Gabriella said, realising they had missed the beginning of the conversation. The doctor continued on with what he was saying.

"As I was just saying, he is out of surgery, but he was very badly injured. The bullets caused quite a bit of damage. As well as some broken ribs, he received a punctured lung which required us to insert a tube until his breathing stabilises. He had quite a lot of internal bleeding due to a ruptured spleen and tissue damage, but we were able to get it under control." the doctor paused for a brief moment taking in their reactions but continuing on as they seemed to be coping quite well.

"... He has a bad concussion from where his head hit the pavement and while his leg is not broken, the bullet did tear it up pretty bad. Other than that, I'd say that he has been a very lucky boy to make it this far. He's in a critical but stable condition so they will be moving him from recovery to ICU in a few minutes. You can see him but I must tell you that although he is sedated for now, he will be in an immense amount of pain when he wakes up and for a quite a while down the track but we'll do our best to ease it as much as we can for him. If you care to follow me, I'll take you upstairs."

Everyone, gathered their things and began to follow the doctor to the ICU. At least Troy was on the road to recovery now, even if it was going to be a very long one.

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**OK, there is chapter 3, what do you think? Please Review, or you won't find out what happens next!**


	4. Chapter 4 First Breath

**Hey guys, so here is chapter 4, hope you guys like it! Sorry it took so long, December as you know is crazy not to mention I turned 20 as well this month, so been quite busy. Glad to see a lot of people are reading it but PLEASE REVIEW! I won't know if you are liking it and whether I should continue. REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW! :)**

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**_Everyone gathered their things and began to follow the doctor to the ICU. At least Troy was on the road to recovery now, even if it was going to be a very long one._

**Chapter 4. - First Breath**

Counting down the floors that the elevator had left to go left everyone with a strange felling. One of worry because Troy had been hurt but also one of happiness and excitement as they had been waiting for so long and they were now finally going to see him.

Dr Richards who had been their main contact throughout the night, led them down the long hallway towards a sign that clearly said "Intensive Care Unit". Gabriella's heart jumped. Seeing the sign was just another indication of how serious Troy's condition was.

The Doctor stopped outside of one of the rooms. "He's in here" he said turning around to face everyone. "Now I must insist on limiting visitation to only two at a time. At least until it's safe to move him to a ward." He stepped out of their way. 'He's sleeping right now but If you do need anything, I'll be just down the hall" he said turning and walking away.

Chad and Gabriella let Troy's parents go in first. The only noise that could be heard was the constant beeping of machines and the inhaling and exhaling of the breathing pump Troy was hooked up to. Jack and Lucille slowly made their way over to the bed. It was very dark in the room but they could clearly make out their son, lying their sleeping. Surprisingly, apart from the tube down his throat and a bandage around his head from where he had hit the ground, Troy seemed peaceful. Peaceful and yet very weak.

Lucille sat down next to the bed, "Hey baby" she whispered gently taking hold of Troy's hand. "It's OK now, we're all here, you just get better. We love you so much darling." As much as she wanted him to wake up, he didn't seem to be in any pain for now and that was how she wanted it. She and Jack stayed there for ten minutes,gently stoking his arm so grateful that they were finally with him.

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Gabriella and Chad were waiting eagerly outside Troy's room. After 10 minutes, the Boltons appeared at the doorway.

"You can go in now, he's still sleeping" Lucille said giving Gabriella a smile of encouragement. "We'll be here" she continued, taking a seat outside the room they had just left.

Gabriella moved slowly, taking a deep breath, she felt a strong arm around her shoulders. As much as she wished she was in Troy's arms, she was glad Chad was there. They entered the dimly lit room and slowly took in their surroundings. Gabbi didn't exactly like hospitals and seeing her boyfriend, lying in a hospital bed, fighting for his life only made the feeling of uneasiness stronger. Not wanting to bump into anything, Gabriella slowly made her way over to Troy's bed and sat down next to it. Chad followed but stood near the end of the bed, giving Gabriella a little space.

Looking at the frail and injured young man lying in the bed, Gabriella couldn't control the tears. Gently lifting Troy's hand and placing hers around it, she began talking to him, only in a whisper, as trying not to wake him. "Troy, baby..." she whispered, fighting back the wet sensation running down her cheeks. "I'm here, so is Chad, we're all here for you. It's all going to be alright." she paused, not knowing what else to say.

Chad was looking down at the foot of the bed when he began to here a slight groan. Looking up, he noticed Troy's eyelids flutter open and saw the terror in his eyes as he was struggling against the breathing tube. Gabriella, noticing Troy's distress jumped up. "It's OK Troy, just breath" she said while pressing the call button and turning to Chad " Get the doctor!" she called motioning for Chad to hurry. Before he even had a chance to respond, Dr Richards and a nurse came running into the room.

"Excuse me miss" he said pushing past Gabriella, to get close to Troy. "Troy, can you here me? You have a tube in to help you breath, we're going to take it out now, so I need you to take as bigger breath as you can and blow out on the count of three." Troy was terrified but knew he had to do it. "OK Troy, One...Two...Three."

Taking the breath in was so painful it made Troy's eyes water. He could feel the tube being pulled out of his throat and it made him go into a fit of coughing. Rubbing his back gently, the staff waited for him to stop coughing before laying him back down and placing an oxygen mask over his face.

The doctor looked Troy straight in the eyes. "Take it easy Troy" he said, as he watched Troy trying to get comfortable and being met with pain every time he moved. "This button is for the pain, just press it whenever you need to, but it will only give yourself so much OK? Troy nodded, squinting at the pain that had suddenly shot through his body. "Try not to speak too much, until your voice has a chance to recover from the tube. I'll be back to see you a bit later, in the mean time I think you can have a couple more visitors" Dr Richards said turning and leaving the room as the nurse continued to fix Troy's pillows trying to make him as comfortable as possible.

Jack, Lucille, Gabbi and Chad jumped up from their seats outside where they had been since leaving to give the staff more room. "Is he OK?" Lucille asked, looking worriedly into the doctors eyes. "We just had to remove the breathing tube. He freaked out a bit when he woke up but he's fine now, I told him to keep the talking to a minimum to give his throat and lungs a chance to recover, so make sure he keeps that oxygen mask on. You can go in now. If you need me, you know where I am" he said, moving off down the corridor.

"Thank you Doctor" Jack said as he placed his arm around his wife and motioned for them to re-enter Troy's room.

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**There you have it, the next chapter... at least 15 reviews till next chapter, I need to know what you guys think...I'm also open to suggestions. REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW! - MerriBishop :) **


	5. Ch5 Repercussions of A Sleepless Night

**So here is Chapter 5. Sorry it's a bit shorter and took so long to update but hopefully it was worth the wait.**

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**_Jack, Lucille, Gabbi and Chad jumped up from their seats outside where they had been since leaving to give the staff more room. "Is he OK?" Lucille asked, looking worriedly into the doctors eyes. "We just had to remove the breathing tube. He freaked out a bit when he woke up but he's fine now, I told him to keep the talking to a minimum to give his throat and lungs a chance to recover, so make sure he keeps that oxygen mask on. You can go in now. If you need me, you know where I am" he said, moving off down the corridor._

_"__Thank you Doctor" Jack said as he placed his arm around his wife and motioned for them to re-enter Troy's room._

**Chapter 5 – Repercussions of a Sleepless Night**

Walking back into the ICU, Jack and Lucille, still slightly shaken from the minutes just passed rushed over to Troy's side. It was so good to finally see Troy off the ventilator Jack thought as he looked down at his frail son, at least now Troy was breathing on his own and making a start to his recovery.

The pressure of his mum's hand on his, made Troy jump, he was just starting to fall asleep from the immense exhaustion he was feeling and the touch of her hand had pulled him out of his impending slumber. Troy slowly opened his eyes, everything still seemed hazy and it took a few moments for his eyes to adjust. Turning his head slightly, he began to make out the figures that were standing by his bedside.

"Mum...Dad?" Troy asked barely able to raise his voice above a harsh whisper. It hurt to speak, he couldn't believe the soreness he felt in his throat from the tube.

"Shh..." Lucille quickly replied as she brushed his loose bangs from his forehead."It's ok, just relax, your father and I are here, and Gabriella and Chad" she said trying to comfort him.

Trying to ignore the immense pain he was experiencing, Troy tried to sit up and pull the mask off his face after hearing the sound of Gabriella's name. "Gab...ri...ellla..." he spoke while trying to shift himself up the bed. "...must apolog...." he said before wincing and being cut of by his mother.

"You need to keep the mask on honey" she said replacing Troy's oxygen mask back over his face. Troy thought about struggling but was in too much pain and so exhausted that he just accepted it. He still wanted to see Gabbi and from where she was standing, he couldn't see her.

"Come around this side Gabriella, so Troy can see you" Jack said as he moved out of the way for the young girl to take his place.

"Thanks" she said quietly, while moving to the other side of Troy's bed. "I'm here Troy" she said placing his free hand between hers. Troy was about to speak again when she stopped him. "Troy there's absolutely no need for you to apologise, you had no idea that was going to happen, it's that bastard's fault." she said looking into Troy's pain filled blue eyes.

"But...I should... have done... something,...you...could have...been hurt" he said in between breaths but looking back apologetically at her. "must have...been...scared."

Gabriella couldn't believe what she was hearing, her own boyfriend lying in the hospital in immense pain blaming himself and only worrying about her and what he could have done to stop her being scared.

"Yeah I was, but I'm OK. You're the one hurt Troy, and I hate to see you in pain." Gabriella said trying so hard to be strong and hold back the tears.

"I'm alright" he said before immediately scrunching his face up as pain shot through his body for the millionth time since he'd woken up.

Watching her son suffering, Lucille picked up the morphine button and placed it into his hand. "Here Troy, press the button, it will help ease the pain." Troy did as his mother said and after a few minutes, was able to relax a little.

Sensing how tired Troy was and knowing how morphine works Jack saw this as a chance to take Gabriella and Chad home and also for them to get some much needed rest, as they had all been up most of the night waiting to hear about Troy. Looking over at Lucille Jack spoke up.

"I think think this might be a good time to take you guys home" he said noticing Troy's eyelids droop. Not giving them a chance to object. "You can come again later but it's almost 6am and you guys haven't had much sleep. We've got to go home and get some things for Troy anyway, So I suggest you come with us and get some rest OK?"

Knowing Mr Bolton was right and that arguing wouldn't do much good, Gabriella and Chad agreed. After saying goodbye to Troy, they moved out into the corridor to wait for the Boltons.

"Come on honey, you could do with some sleep too" Jack said as he helped her up and went over to Troy. "We'll be back a bit later son" Jack said as he patted Troy's shoulder " You get some sleep."

Troy wasn't going to object at all to his father's suggestion, he wished he could stay awake, but with everyone leaving anyway, Troy was able to let his body succumb to the exhaustion he was feeling and immediately drifted off to sleep.

Noticing him quickly fall asleep, Jack and Lucille quietly left Troy's hospital room. Meeting up with Gabriella and Chad the Boltons left the hospital on their way home to get some much needed sleep and to inform a few people of yesterday's horrible events.

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**Did you like it? Hope so, please REVIEW! I need to know what you guys think. Also if you have any ideas for the story, please let me know, I'm eager to hear your thoughts! Thanks. MerriBishop :)**


	6. Chapter 6 He's Just a Kid

Chapter 6 – He's just a kid.

The drive home went by quietly and quickly. Gabriella and Chad had managed to fall asleep in the backseat leaving Lucille and Jack some time to reflect on the eventful night. Not many words were spoken. Just being able to spend some time being grateful for their son pulling through surgery was enough. They quietly pulled into Chad's driveway. His mother and father, best friends of the Bolton's came out to meet them.

They both climbed out of the car as silently as possible trying not to wake the kids. Mr Danforth walked up to Jack.

"Hey Jack, I'm so sorry about what happened. How is Troy?" he asked putting his hand on his friend's shoulder.

"Well he, um...just woke up not long ago. The surgery lasted about 12 hours, but they've got him stabilized now. He's in a lot of pain though." Jack said trying to sound as strong as he could.

"He's a strong kid, he'll get through it!" Mr Danforth replied, giving as much encouragement to Jack as possible.

"Did they catch the guy?" asked Mrs Danforth, who had been around the other side of the car with Lucille.

"Yeah the police have him in custody and have charged him with attempted murder." Jack replied

"And he's admitted to it, so Troy and the kids won't be dragged into the court proceedings thank goodness." Lucille added giving a weak smile across the car to her husband.

"Well thank God for That" Mr Danforth said.

"We're just so glad Troy is going to be ok. How are the others?" Mrs Danforth asked looking into the back of the car.

"They seem to be holding up pretty well considering. All though it has already become a challenge getting these two away from the hospital, even to sleep!" Jack said as the four of them observed them sleeping.

"Well I suppose we'd better get our boy to his bed so we can let you guys keep going" Mrs Danforth said as her husband gently opened the car door and gently shook Chad awake.

Soon the Danforths were standing by the car saying goodbye to the Boltons and Gabriella who had managed to stay asleep the whole time.

"Get some sleep Chad, and we'll see you a bit later" Jack said.

"Will do Coach! Thanks!" Chad said waving as they reversed out of the driveway.

The Boltons made their way over to Gabriella's house. Before Mrs Montez even had a chance to get out the front door, Jack had scooped a sleeping Gabriella into his arms and was walking towards the house.

"How is she?" Her mother asked as Jack walked towards her.

"She's fine, just worn out, she hasn't slept all night. I'll take her upstairs" Jack said as Mrs Montez nodded and motioned him forward.

"Thanks so much from dropping her off. How's Troy?" She asked Lucille as she gave her a hug.

"He's stable. They've got him in ICU for now until they move him to a ward." She said quietly. "Gabriella wouldn't leave his side."

"You know, that doesn't surprise me, they seem to love each other so much." Mrs Montez said smiling.

"Well when he woke up, all he was worried about was apologizing to her for not protecting her enough" Lucille said

"But she's fine; he's the one in the hospital"

"That's was Gabriella said" Lucille laughed "They care so much for each other. Don't be surprised if when she wakes up she wants to go straight back to Troy".

"I'll keep that in mind, thanks" Mrs Montez said as Jack came back outside to the car.

"Well she's all tucked up in bed, sound asleep so we should get going too. We need to pick some things up for Troy before heading back to the hospital." Jack said as he gave Mrs Montez a hug.

"Give my love to Troy" she said as the Boltons got back into their car. "And if there's anything we can do, don't hesitate to ask."

"Thanks, will do!" Jack spoke out the window as he put the car into reverse. "See you later."

"Bye."

It was almost 8am when the Boltons finally walked through the door of their house. Jack went to make some coffee while Lucille immediately went to the hall closet to get one of Troy's bags.

"I'm just going to go and put some of Troy's things in a bag. I'll be done in a few." She told her husband as she turned to make her way to her son's room.

"Okay" Jack said as he sat down at the kitchen counter with the coffee he'd just made.

Five minutes later, Lucille appeared from Troy's room with a neatly packed bag.

"I've packed him some clothes, pyjamas, his toothbrush, clean underwear etc as well as a couple of photos to make him feel a bit more comfortable" she said as she placed the bag at the door and went to join her husband at the counter.

"Good, although, he may have some trouble wearing the pyjamas at the moment" Jack said looking down at his coffee.

"Yeah I know, but at least it will all be there when he's ready" she said pouring herself a cup of coffee and taking a sip.

They sat there in silence for a while, Lucille noticing how quiet Jack seemed.

"Honey, he'll be ok, he'll get through this. We'll help him" she said placing her hand upon his.

Jack let out a sigh before answering.

"I know, it's just...I mean, he's still just a kid. This shouldn't be happening. He should be out there enjoying life, hanging out with his friends, not stuck in a hospital bed having just had major surgery. What about his basketball? The recovery time alone will set him back a long way. Not to mention the fact that it's not certain whether he'll be able to play again. Lucille, it would devastate him if that were to happen." Jack said looking up from his coffee into his wife's eyes, tears slowly making their way down his cheeks. Lucille stood up and put her arms around him.

"Shhhh" she said trying to calm her husband. "We'll work it out. It's not fair I know, but these challenges are given to us to make us stronger and I know Troy. He'll get through it. We just need to stay strong for him." She said kissing him lightly on the head. "Now come on, we'd better get some sleep, so we can get back to Troy. He wouldn't be very happy if he saw how tired we looked right now" she said trying to lighten the mood as she and her husband made their way to their room to catch up on some much needed sleep.

Troy woke up to an immense amount of pain all through his body. He could sense someone else was in the room with him but he had yet to open his eyes and see who it was. He let out a groan when he realised the pain was not subsiding anytime soon.

"Troy...Troy can you open your eyes for me sweetie?" the voice said as it came nearer the bed.

He slowly opened his eyes, squinting as the brightness in the room hurt his eyes. It had still been dark when he first awoke at 6am so he didn't notice it.

"There we go. Can you tell me where you are Troy?" The woman standing by his bed asked him.

"Hospital?" Troy said slowly noticing the type of room he was in.

"That's right, you were a bit out of it the last time you woke up so I just needed to check" she said as she checked his IV and moved to the notes at the end of his bed. "My name is Julie and I'll be your nurse this shift. Now on a scale from one to ten, ten being the most pain you could imagine how bad does it hurt?" she said noticing Troy was very uncomfortable.

"Um....about a nine." He said quietly, still suffering from a dry and croaky throat. "What time is it?" He also asked scrunching his face up as he moved slightly.

"It's almost 10am" she said as she wrote down some notes. After a minute or two she looked up at Troy. "Ok Troy, here's what I'm going to do. I'm going to see if the Doctor can up your morphine a little to take a bit more edge off the pain. Unfortunately it won't get rid of it completely but it should help, just remember to keep pressing that button we gave you whenever you need it ok?"

Troy just nodded his head not wanting to speak much as his throat was still sore and the oxygen mask was still on his face. Realising how annoying it was Troy moved his hand up and began to pull the mask off his face. Julie stopped him, gently placing it back where it belonged. Troy groaned.

"I'm sorry Troy but you need to keep it on for a little bit longer, we'll see about changing it over to a nasal cannula in a few hours when we move you to a ward. In the mean time I'll get you some ice chips to suck on to help ease that throat" Julie said as she picked up Troy's notes and left the room.

Troy continued to lie in bed listening to the steady beep of his heart monitor until Julie came back. In the ten minutes that she had been gone, he has pressed his morphine button twice...thankfully the pain was starting to subside a little. Julie finally came back with a cup full of ice chips.

"Here we go, just suck on them for now, it should help." She said as she passed him the cup full of ice. Troy tried to sit up but was stopped by both Julie and the pain that was now increasing from when he moved. "Woah there Troy, Don't try to move, you have quite a lot of injuries. Try and lay still. Here I'll put the bed head up a little" she said as she moved to the head of the bed and pressed the button to slowly make it rise.

"Thanks" Troy mumbled as he removed the mask to put some ice in his mouth. Replacing it back where it was, Troy laid his head back sighing.

"Hey..." Julie said coming back around to face Troy. "I know it hurts a lot right now, but we are going to do everything we can to get you better, it's just going to take some time." She said smiling sweetly back at him.

"Now the Doctor has agreed to give you some more pain killers but it will make you sleepy. I'll give you some now and see how we go when we move you" she said as she injected some more pain killer into Troy's IV.


End file.
